Device for identifying a person and a method thereof

ABSTRACT

A device having a fingerprint reader and a first heart rate monitor which are co-located such that a person&#39;s heart rate is obtained at the same time as this fingerprint. The device is integral to yet another heart rate monitor for monitoring the performance of the person in exercise. The readings of the other heart rate monitor correlates to the readings of the first heart rate monitor if the person whose fingerprint is read is the same person wearing the second heart rate monitor, in which case the fingerprint is deemed acceptable for identifying the person. Other biometric identification besides fingerprint can be used such as iris recognition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under U.S.C. 120 to U.S.application Ser. No. 15/755,491 filed Feb. 26, 2018, entitled A DEVICEFOR IDENTIFYING A PERSON AND A METHOD THEREOF, which is a filing under35 U.S.C. 371 as the National Stage of International Application No.PCT/CN2018/074022, filed Jan. 24, 2018, entitled “A DEVICE FORIDENTIFYING A PERSON AND A METHOD THEREOF,” which claims priority toHong Kong Application No. HK 17101077.5 filed with the IntellectualProperty Office of Hong Kong on Jan. 28, 2017,” each of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a person authentication device andmethod. In particular, the invention relates to a device which can beused to ascertain that the person wearing or using the device is indeedthe person as authenticated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wearable devices have been proposed for monitoring physical performanceof people in exercise or sport. People using such a device normally justwear the device on their wrist, waist, chest and so on. Some of thesedevices contain an accelerometer to count the number of steps the personhas taken in a cross-country run or the number of stokes he has executedin a swim, or to observe the height to which he has jumped. Some ofthese devices are able to monitor the heart rate or temperature of theperson, and may raise an alarm when the person appears to be at the endof his endurance or performance tolerance. Furthermore, these devicesmay contain a GPS respondent to observe the distance the person hascovered in a long distance sport.

These devices may be used to record competition between persons who arephysically remote from each other. The performance of the persons may berecorded in real time and displayed on the wearable device worn by eachperson. In this way, the persons are able to tell many steps each ofthem has taken and the distance each has covered. The problem with suchwearable devices is that they can be taken off and worn by someone elseinstead of the intended person. Someone else may wear the device for aperson to take part in a competition in place of the person.

Biometrics authentication methods have been proposed to authenticate theperson wearing such a device. For example, the device comprises afingerprint reader which is used to authenticate the person. However,this method is not fool proof. Someone who is taking part in acompetition in place of a person may wear the device while the personprovide the fingerprint to be read.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide an authentication method forverifying the identity of the actual person wearing such wearabledevices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the invention proposes a device for identifying aperson comprising: a physiological monitor; a biometric identity reader;wherein the biometric identity reader and the physiological monitor areconfigured such that the biometric identity reader reads biometricinformation of the person and the physiological monitor readsphysiological information of the person at the same time.

Reading biometric information at the same time as reading physiologicaldata using the same device provides the possibility that thephysiological data be verified as belonging to the person identified bythe biometric information. Preferably, the physiological monitor isadjacent the biometric identity reader; such that the physical distancebetween physiological monitor and the biometric identity reader preventsthe physiological monitor and the biometric identity reader from beingapplied separately to more than one person at the same time. For examplethe physiological monitor and the biometric identity reader are in thesame device housing which is sized to be placed on the same part of thebody of the person. A smaller housing ensures that embodiments of theinvention are used at the same time and on the same person; thephysiological monitor cannot be physically applied on one person whilethe biometric identity reader is applied on another person.

Preferably, the physiological monitor monitors the heart beat pattern ofthe person. The term ‘heart beat pattern’ is used to include heart ratebut may also refer other kinds of physiological observations made on theheart. For example, instead of heart rate, the ‘heart beat pattern’ maybe a peak to peak magnitude.

Optionally, the device is in communication with a second physiologicalmonitor; the biometric identity reader and the physiological monitor ofthe device, and the second physiological monitor are configured suchthat the biometric identity reader reads biometric information of theperson, the physiological monitor reads physiological information of theperson and the second physiological monitor reads physiologicalinformation of the person at the same time.

This provides the possibility that, from one set of physiological data,any number of ‘second’ physiological monitors worn by the identifiedperson may be verified cascadingly as being worn by the same person,provided that the same physiological data read of all these devicesmatch. Once these other ‘second’ physiological monitors are verified asbeing worn by the same person, different functions of these ‘second’physiological monitors may be employed with confidence that they areapplied on the identified person.

Optionally, the device is in communication with the second physiologicalmonitor wirelessly. In such embodiments, the device is a smart phonehaving a fingerprint scanner which can read the heart rate pattern froma person's fingertip, and the second physiological monitor is a deviceworn by the person. The person may wear the second physiological monitoron his wrist, ankle, ear, head, chest or even internally in his body(such as a swallowed device in his intestines). The wirelesscommunication protocol can be Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, infrared and so on.

Preferably, however, the device is physically integral with the secondphysiological monitor, the integrated device having a dimension whichprevents the physiological monitor, the biometric identity reader andthe second physiological monitor from being applied onto differentpersons. This helps to ensure the integrity of embodiment physically inthe sense that the embodiments have to be applied onto the same personwho may be identified by the biometric identity reader.

Preferably, the biometric identity reader is a fingerprint reader.Alternatively, the biometric identity reader is a biometric heartbeatpattern reader, such as a biometric ECG monitor. In some embodiments,the biometric identity reader and the physiological monitor are bothprovided as one, in the form of a camera, the camera positioned to becapable of being looked into by the eye of the person

Preferably, the device further comprises a belt for strapping to thewrist of the person. Alternatively, the device is an earphone or ear budwhich can be inserted into a person's ear canal, in which case thesecond physiological monitor may be a light based blood flow monitorinstalled in the ear phone or ear bud.

Preferably, the second physiological monitor is a light based blood flowmonitor installed in an ear phone.

Optionally, the biometric identity reader is an accelerometer, formonitoring characteristic mannerism of the person using the device, thecharacteristic mannerism of the person being useable as a behavioralbiometric identification.

In a second aspect, the invention proposes a physiological monitor,which is capable of obtaining a first set of physiological data readfrom a person; supplying the first set of physiological data to bematched to a second set of physiological data read from the same person;the first set of physiological data and the second set of physiologicaldata read from the same person at the same time.

Typically, the person from whom the second set of physiological data isread has been authenticated. Therefore, devices containing thephysiological monitor may be used for monitoring the performance of aperson wearing such a device, and the person may be authenticating bymatching the first set of physiological data and the second set ofphysiological data.

This provides the advantage that different physiological monitors may beprovided or sold to the person separately and yet benefit from beingable to obtain the second set of physiological data for matching to thefirst set of physiological data. In this way, as long as the second setof physiological data has been verified as having been obtained from anauthenticated person, the first set of physiological data may be reliedupon as having been read from the authenticated person

Preferably, the first set of physiological data is read from the personin real time. Therefore, the second set of physiological data is alsoread from the person in real time. This allows improved identitysecurity in that the second set of physiological data is notpre-recorded.

Optionally, the physiological monitor is a light based blood flowmonitor installed in an ear phone.

Preferably, the physiological monitor is capable of encryptingphysiological data in real time using biometric data of the person.Different persons may use the same device, but each of them separatelyand independent authenticated as they use the device in turn.

In yet a further aspect, the invention proposes a method ofauthenticating physiological information of person comprising the stepsof: providing a first physiological monitor;

providing a biometric identity reader; the biometric identity readerreading biometric information of the person and the first physiologicalmonitor reading physiological information of the person at the sametime; authenticating the biometric information of the person in order toaccept the physiological information as belonging to the person.

Preferably, the biometric identity reader and the first physiologicalmonitor are physically constrained preventing from being appliedseparately to more than one person at the same time.

Preferably, the biometric information of the person is keystrokepatterns characteristic of the person typing on a keyboard.

Preferably, the method comprises the further steps of: providing asecond physiological monitor; the second physiological monitor readingphysiological information of the person; if the physiologicalinformation read by the first physiological monitor correlates to thephysiological information read by the second physiological monitor;accepting yet further physiological information read by the secondphysiological monitor as belonging to the person.

Preferably, the method comprises the further step of encrypting thefurther physiological information read by the second physiologicalmonitor using the biometric information of the person.

In a further aspect, the invention proposes a physiological monitor anda biometric identity reader co-located to read from the same part of aliving body. The part of the body may be a fingertip or the eye.Typically, but not necessarily, the physiological monitor is a pulsereader, and the biometric identity reader is a fingerprint reader if thepart of the body is the fingertip or biometric identity reader is aniris scanner if the part of the body is the eye. Being co-located,preferably in the same physical housing to prevent the physiologicalmonitor and the biometric identity reader from be separated, ensuresthat the information is read from the same person. In this way, both thereadings from the physiological monitor and the biometric identityreader can be said to originate from the same person with certainty.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

It will be convenient to further describe the present invention withrespect to the accompanying drawings that illustrate possiblearrangements of the invention, in which like integers refer to likeparts. Other arrangements of the invention are possible, andconsequently the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not to beunderstood as superseding the generality of the preceding description ofthe invention.

FIG. 1 is an illustrate of a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in a differentview;

FIG. 2a illustrates a heart rate signal observable by the embodiment ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 1 in perspective view;

FIG. 4 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 1 in use;

FIG. 5 is an illustrate of a second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an illustrate of the embodiment of FIG. 5 in use; FIG. 7 is anillustrate of a third embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of the embodiment of FIG. 7 in a differentview; FIG. 9 illustrates a heart rate signal observable by theembodiment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an illustrate of a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 11 is another illustration of the embodiment of FIG. 10; FIG. 12 isa different view of the embodiment of FIG. 11; FIG. 13 illustrates yetanother embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates yet another embodiment; and

FIG. 15 illustrates yet another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show a first embodiment 100, which is a device that maybe worn on the wrist of a person. The top face 101 of the device isshown in FIG. 1, i.e. it faces away from the wrist when worn. Theunderside 201 is shown in FIG. 2, i.e. the face which is in contact withthe wrist of the person if worn. FIG. 3 shows the embodiment 100 inperspective view. FIG. 4 shows the embodiment 100 when worn by theperson.

Both the top face 101 and the bottom face 201 are each provided with alight-based heart rate monitor. The preferred type of light base heartrate monitor is the PPG sensor (photoplethysmography).

The top PPG sensor 103 in FIG. 1, i.e. the PPG sensor on the top face101 of the embodiment 100, is superimposed with a fingerprint reader 105such that the tip of a finger is able to cover the top PPG sensor 103and the fingerprint reader 105 at the same time.

‘Superimposition’ means the top PPG sensor 103 and the fingerprintreader 105 are laid one over the other. However, the meaning of‘superimposition’ also includes any configuration in which the top PPGsensor 103 and the fingerprint reader 105 are placed in such closeproximity such that a person's fingertip is able to cover over both thetop PPG sensor and the finger print reader at once. In other words, thetop PPG sensor 103 and the fingerprint reader 105 may also be adjacentor next to one another.

Next to the fingerprint reader 105 is a screen 107 for displayinginformation. However, in other embodiments, the fingerprint reader 105,the top PPG sensor 103 and the display screen 107 are laid one over theother in order to maximise the size of the screen 107 over the top face101 of the device.

The embodiment 100 is provided with wrist straps 109. The person wearsthe embodiment 100 by strapping it over his wrist so that the bottom PPGsensor 211 is placed snugly against the person's skin. A typical PPGsensor comprises at least one light source 203 such as an LED (lightemitting diode), which is illustrated by a circle in FIG. 2, and atleast one corresponding optical sensor 205 normally placed next to thelight source 203, which is illustrated by a square in FIG. 2. Arectangular dashed line in FIG. 2 around the optical sensor 205 and alight source 203 represents the bottom PPG sensor 211 as a whole.

The light frequency of the light source 203 is such that blood in thewrist skin and wrist tissue is able to absorb the light. Light from thelight source 203 which has transmitted through the skin and tissue of aperson is normally pulsating. The pulsation is cyclical and virtuallyperiodic, corresponding to the flushing of blood into the skin andtissue as it is pumped by the heart. FIG. 2a schematically illustratesthe pulsating pattern of PPG sensor light propagation through a person'sskin and tissue. The peaks 207 in the signal are moments when the heartis relaxed and wrist tissue is relatively depleted of blood, such thatmore light propagates through the wrist to reach the optical sensor. Thetroughs 209 in the signal are moments when the heart has contracted andwrist tissue is relatively full of blood, such that less lightpropagates through the wrist to reach the optical sensor 205 becausemost of the light has been absorbed by blood. The optical sensor 205monitors this pulsation, which can be used to determine the pattern ofthe heartbeat of the person against whose skin is the PPG sensor placed.

FIG. 1 does not illustrate the top PPG in its components of an opticalsensor and a light source, but the skilled reader should understand thatthese components make up the top PPG nevertheless.

The fingerprint reader 105 superimposed with the top PPG sensor 103provides the possibility that the person to identified himself as theperson who is indeed wearing the embodiment 100.

To authenticate himself as the person wearing the embodiment 100, theperson places his index finger over the fingerprint reader 105 and thetop PPG sensor 103 at the same time. This is illustrated in FIG. 3 andFIG. 4.

As the top PPG sensor 103 is practically in the same location as thefingerprint reader 105, while the fingerprint of the person's indexfinger is being scanned, the top PPG sensor 103 is also reading theperson's heart beat pattern from the index finger. At the same time, thebottom PPG sensor also monitors the person's heart beat pattern from theperson's wrist.

The heart beat pattern is the same throughout the person's body.Therefore, the heart beat pattern read by the top PPG sensor 103 andheart beat pattern read by the bottom PPG sensor 211 should be identicalif the person wearing the embodiment 100 is the same person who hasplaced this finger onto the fingerprint reader 105. Accordingly, if theheart beat patterns observed by each of the two PPG sensors in theembodiment 100 correlate, it is deemed that the person who is wearingthe embodiment 100 is also the person whose fingerprint has beenscanned. In this case, the scanned fingerprint is deemed acceptable forverifying the identity of the person. The embodiment 100 then transmitsthe scanned fingerprint to a server wirelessly for verification. A copyof the person's fingerprint has been scanned and recorded in the serverin advance, which may therefore be used as a template for matching thescanned fingerprint transmitted from the embodiment 100 for verifyingthe person's identity. Alternatively, the fingerprint scanned by theembodiment 100 is matched with a copy of the person's fingerprint whichhas been pre-stored inside a memory within the embodiment 100 forverifying the person's identity. If the heart beat patterns observed byeach of the two PPG sensors in the embodiment 100 do not correlate, itis deemed that the person who is wearing the embodiment 100 is not theperson whose fingerprint has been scanned. Therefore, the fingerprintscanned by the embodiment 100 is not accepted for verifying the identityof the person.

Typically, the person identity is assumed to be verified and theembodiment worn by the person as long as the bottom PPG sensor 211 hasnot detected itself being moved away from the person. For example, ifthe optical sensor 205 of bottom PPG sensor 211 detects bright ambientlight, the embodiment 100 will assume that the embodiment 100 has beentaken off the person's wrist. Alternatively, if the embodiment 100detects that the heart rate of the person has ceased to be detectablefor a period of time, the embodiment 100 will also assume that theembodiment 100 has been taken off the person's wrist. In these cases,the person's identify needs to be verified again using theaforementioned procedure.

Subsequently, the person can begin exercising and his heart rate andexercise performance can be recorded by the embodiment 100. If theembodiment contains an accelerator, the person's steps can be counted.If the embodiment contains a GPS, the person's location can bemonitored. This data can be transmitted to the server which theembodiment 100 is in wireless communication with to be stored under theperson's profile.

The embodiment is useable to monitor the performance of different peoplein different parts of the world all wearing an embodiment 100. Theperformance of these different people performance can be recorded andcompared in real time by the server to facilitate a remote competition.

Accordingly, the embodiment 100 provides a possibility of ensuring thatthe identity of the person who is actually wearing the embodiment isauthenticated.

Other technologies may be used instead of that of the PPG sensor such asthose based on infrared light, electrodes to monitor electrical signalsand so on. These do not require elaboration here.

In a variation of the embodiment 100, once the person has beenauthenticated, the biometric data is used to encrypt any data which issent over to the server by the embodiment. Where the server has a copyof the biometric data of the person, the server is able to decrypt thedata. In this way, different persons may use the same device, but eachof them may be separately and independent authenticated as they use thedevice in turn. Their physiological data and other information which iscollected by the device may be securely released to the server withoutfear of being intercepted wirelessly and used. This allows the sameembodiment to be used by multiple users to obtain very sensitive andpersonal physiological data for medical record and yet retain securityof information from each other and unknown third parties. Virtually, asthe physiological data is obtained continually from the person wearingthe embodiment, the encryption of each packet of data of physiologicaldata is done in real time.

Accordingly, the embodiment 100 includes a method of performing realtime data encryption using a person's biometric data. Preferably, thebiometric data has been first verified as described.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment 500. In this embodiment, theperson's authentication is obtained not by his fingerprint but bybiometric eye recognition. This may be Iris recognition. The iris has acomplex pattern which is unique to every person. The pattern is stableand can be seen from some distance. Iris recognition can be done using avideo camera to capture the iris pattern in near infrared illumination.

In a variation of this embodiment, the biometric eye recognition isretinal blood vessel pattern recognition. However, this not thepreferred method as the retina requires a more in-depth scan of the eye.

This embodiment 500 is also a wrist worn device and a bottom PPG sensor211 is still used to monitor the blood flow in the person's wrist.However, FIG. 5 shows the embodiment 100 comprising a camera 501 inplace of the fingerprint reader 105 and the top PPG sensor 103 in thefirst embodiment. This is because the camera 501 is able to capture animage of the iris for identification of the person, as well as observethe pulsations of blood vessel in the retina to monitor the heart beatpattern of the person.

In use, the person wears the embodiment on this wrist, such that thebottom PPG sensor 211 is able to monitor heart beat pattern from theperson's wrist. The person then looks into the camera 501, asillustrated in FIG. 6, in order that his iris pattern may be scanned andalso that the heart beat pattern may be observed from the pulsating flowof blood in the blood vessels inside his eye. The light frequency usedfor monitoring blood flow in the eye is preferably selected to be nearinfrared for better sensitivity.

The heart beat pattern observed by the camera 501 from the pulsatingblood flow in the person's eye and the heart beat pattern as observed bythe bottom PPG sensor 211 from the person's wrist should be identical ifthe person wearing the embodiment 100 on his wrist is indeed the sameperson who has looked into the camera 501. If the two heart beatpatterns are identical, it is deemed that the person who is wearing theembodiment is indeed the person whose iris pattern has been scanned.Therefore, the iris pattern is deemed accepted for verifying theidentity of the person.

The embodiment 100 then transmits the iris pattern to a serverwirelessly for verification. A copy of the person's iris pattern hasbeen scanned and recorded in the server in advance, which may thereforebe used as a template for matching the scanned iris pattern transmittedfrom the embodiment 100 for verifying the person's identity.Alternatively, the iris pattern scanned by the embodiment 100 is matchedwith a copy of the person's iris pattern which has been pre-storedinside a memory within the embodiment 100 for verifying the person'sidentity.

Conversely, if the heart rate patterns are not identical, it is deemedthat the person who is wearing the embodiment is not the person whoseiris pattern has been scanned. Therefore, the iris pattern is rejectedfor verifying the identity of the person.

Typically, the person identity is assumed to be verified and theembodiment worn by the person as long as the bottom PPG sensor 211 hasnot detected itself being moved away from the person. For example, ifthe optical sensor 205 of bottom PPG sensor 211 detects bright ambientlight, the embodiment 100 will assume that the embodiment 100 has beentaken off the person's wrist. Alternatively, if the embodiment 100detects that the heart rate of the person has ceased to be detectablefor a period of time, the embodiment 100 will also assume that theembodiment 100 has been taken off the person's wrist. In these cases,the person's identify needs to be verified again using theaforementioned procedure.

Embodiment 3

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 shows another embodiment 700 comprising a miniatureECG (electrocardiogram) sensor instead of the fingerprint reader 105 ofthe first embodiment. The pattern of a heart beat signal obtained in anECG has specific characteristics which are biometrically unique to everyperson.

In this embodiment 700, the fingerprint reader 105 and the top PPGsensor 103 in the first embodiment 100 are not required. Only the bottomPPG sensor 211 is needed for monitoring the heart beat pattern of theperson from the person's wrist. As the ECG sensor is able to obtainheart beat signals, the ECG sensor fulfils both the role of a biometricauthentication device, as well as that of a heart beat pattern monitor.

The ECG sensor 801 is shown in FIG. 8 placed on the bottom face 201 ofthe embodiment 700 in FIG. 8. That is, the ECG sensor 801 is located onthe same side of the embodiment 700 as the bottom PPG sensor 211.

Accordingly, the top face 101 of the embodiment as shown in FIG. 7 canbe fully occupied by a display, as a top PPG sensor no longer occupiesthe top face 101.

FIG. 9 shows a standard cardiogram having several peaks which can bedetected as electric signals from the different heart chambers,represented by PORST. An ECG can identify a person using heartbeatsub-patterns (in particular the P, ORS, T, PORS and ORST subsets of thestandard ECG of a person), or even the full heartbeat waveform(Exploring Heartbeat Sub-patterns for Person Identification, Carreiraset. al., Portuguese Conference on Pattern Recognition 2013). Details ofthe technology used in an ECG sensor are not within the scope of thisinvention and therefore detailed elaboration of it is not necessary.

In use, the person wears the embodiment 700 on his wrist, such that thebottom PPG sensor 211 is able to monitor his heart beat pattern from thewrist. The ECG sensor 801 is also on the underside of the embodiment andtherefore observes the ECG of the person from virtually the same part ofthe wrist. The heart beat pattern observed by the bottom PPG sensor 211and the heart rate observed by the ECG sensor 801 should correlate,since they are read from the person. However, the bottom PPG sensor 211is unable to collect fine details for biometric recognition like the ECGsensor 801. The bottom PPG sensor 211, on the other hand, is more ruggedand robust, and is useable to monitor the heart beat pattern of theperson over long period of time while he is engaging in strenuousactivities. In contrast, a wearable ECG sensor is more delicate and maybe obtaining too much information after the person has been verified orauthenticated, which requires more intensive processing power.Furthermore, in most situations, there is no need for continualbiometric identification.

Therefore, it is preferred to have both the bottom PPG sensor 211 andthe ECG sensor 801 in the same embedment even though the ECG sensor maywell by itself monitor the heart beat pattern of the person.

To authenticate himself as the person wearing the embodiment 700, theperson merely needs to interact with the display screen 107 trigger anauthentication process.

As the bottom PPG sensor 211 is practically in the same location as theECG sensor 801, while the ECG-biometric identity of the person is beingscanned, the bottom PPG sensor 211 is also reading the person's heartbeat pattern from the wrist. The ECG-biometric identity of the personnaturally contains the person's heart beat pattern.

The heart beat pattern read by the bottom PPG sensor 211 and heart beatpattern embodied in the ECG-biometric identity should be the same.Accordingly, the ECG-biometric identity is used for verifying theidentity of the person. The embodiment 700 transmits the ECG-biometricidentity ‘to a server wirelessly for verification of the person. A copyof the person's ECG-biometric identity has been scanned and recorded inthe server in advance, which may therefore be used as a template formatching the ECG-biometric identity transmitted from the embodiment 700for verifying the person's identity.

Alternatively, the ECG-biometric identity scanned by the embodiment 100is matched with a copy of the person's ECG-biometric identity which hasbeen pre-stored inside a memory within the embodiment 700 for verifyingthe person's identity.

As with the earlier embodiments, the person identity is assumed to beverified and the embodiment worn by the person as long as the bottom PPGsensor 211 has not detected itself being moved away from the person.

Embodiment 4

FIG. 10 shows yet another embodiment 1000, which is a smart earphone1000 containing physiological sensors. FIG. 11 shows a close up of theear bud 1501 of the smart earphone 1000 which is intended for insertionin the ear canal, stripped of the typical foam covering. FIG. 12 showsthe same ear bud 1501 in a cross sectional side view.

The earphone 1000 comprises a light source 203 and an optical sensor 205arranged in the ear bud 1501. Typically, the ear bud 1501 is made of adeformable resilient outer part 1701 sized to fit within the ear canalof a person. Within the ear bud 1501 is a speaker 1703, a hollow innercore 1601 for sound conduction from the speaker in to the ear, anresilient inner foam structure 1603 for softness and flexibility, thinwirings (not illustrated) for connection to the light source 203 andoptical sensor 205. The resilient outer part 1701 provides increasedcomfort and protection of the light source 203 and optical sensors 205.The resilient inner foam 1603 may be compressed during insertion of theear bud 1501 into the ear to provide further support in the ear canal.There are three sets 1605 of light source 203 and optical sensor 205pairs, spaced 120 degree around the ear bud. One set is facing thereader showing clearly the light source 203 and optical sensor 205,while the other sets face away from the reader.

To monitor the heart beat pattern of the person wearing the earphone100, the light source 203 transmit a light into the skin and tissue ofthe ear canal. As light propagates into the skin and tissue, some of thelight is scattered and is diverted towards the optical sensor 205. Bloodcontent in the ear canal affects the transmission of light. When thereis more blood in the ear, more light is absorbed and less light isscattered towards the optical sensor 205. When there is less blood inthe ear, less light is absorbed and more light is scattered towards theoptical sensor 205. Therefore, the pumping of the heart is detectable bymonitoring the transmission of light from the light source 203 throughthe skin and tissue, and to the optical sensor 205.

The earphone 1000 is capable of communicating with a server wirelesslyto send physiological data of the person, the identity of the person andthe GPS location of the earphone to the server.

FIG. 10 shows that along the wire leading up to the earphone 1000 is ahousing which contains a fingerprint reader 105, which is co-locatedwith a top PPG sensor 103, both arranged in a similar manner as that inthe embodiment of FIG. 1. The underside of the housing does not have aPPG sensor, as the function of collecting heart beat pattern of thebottom PPG sensor is now provided in the ear bud 1501.

To identifying himself to the server which the smart earphone is incommunication with, the person simply places his fingertip onto thefingerprint reader 105 and the PPG sensor 103 at once. The scanning ofthe person's fingerprint is done at the same time and from the same partof the finger as the PPG sensor 103 reads the person's heart beatpattern.

When the fingerprint reader 105 begins scanning the person'sfingerprint, the sensors in the earphone are triggered to read the heartbeat pattern of the person at the same time.

The heart beat pattern read from the finger and in the ear canal shouldbe identical if the person wearing the ear bud is the same person whohas placed this finger onto the fingerprint reader. Therefore, if theheart beat patterns observed by the PPG sensor 103 and the sensors inthe earphone correlate, it is deemed that the person who is wearing theear bud is actually the person whose fingerprint has been scanned. Thescanned fingerprint is therefore deemed acceptable for use in verifyingthe identity of the person.

Conversely, if the heart rates as observed by the PPG sensor 103 and thesensors in the earphone do not correlate, it is deemed that the personwho is wearing the ear bud is not the person whose fingerprint has beenscanned. Therefore, the scanned fingerprint is rejected for verifyingthe identity of the person.

Typically, the person identify is assumed to be the same as long as thesensors in the ear bud do not detected that the ear bud has been takenout of the ear canal. For example, if the optical sensors in the ear buddetect bright ambient light, the smart earphone will determine that thatindicates that the embodiment has been taken off the person's ear canal.in such a case, the person's identify needs to be verified again.

Embodiment 5

FIG. 13 illustrates yet another embodiment 1300. The embodiment 1300 isa wrist worn device containing the bottom PPG sensor (not visible inFIG. 13) to read the person's heart beat pattern from his wrist, similarto the embodiment 100 of FIG. 1, except that the embodiment 1300 nowincludes an accelerometer (not illustrated) to monitor movements of thewrist.

The biometric authentication of the person in this embodiment isbehavioural instead of a physical attribute. In particular, the mannerin which the person types a password has unique keystroke rhythm. Thatis, the accentuation of different strokes on different keys, the timeperiod between typing on every two letters in the password and which ofhis hands does the person use for typing certain characters in thepassword and so on. The typing manner of a password has been found to beunique to every person.

When the person using this embodiment 1300 is about to type his passwordon the keyboard, the person triggers the embodiment 1300 to detectmovements caused by the typing. At the same time, the embodiment 1300 isreading the heart beat pattern using the bottom PPG sensor at theperson's wrist.

The computer also monitors the person's typing characteristics as theperson enters his password, monitoring the keystroke rhythm, that is,the accentuation of different strokes on different keys (e.g. keyboardscan detect accentuations as staccato and non-staccato typing), the timeperiod between typing on every two letters in the password and so on.

The computer is able to communicate with the device on the person'swrist wirelessly, such as by WiFi or Bluetooth™. Either the computer orthe device, or both, are able to match the typing characteristicsdetected by the embodiment 1300 from the person's hand when he wasentering the password with the typing characteristics sensed by thecomputer from the keyboard. If the typing characteristics of thosecharacters entered by that hand wearing the embodiment 1300 match thetyping characteristics of those characters received by the computer(entered by that same hand), it shall be deemed that the embodiment isbeing worn by the person who has been identified the password.Subsequently, heart beat pattern obtained by the PPG sensor and anyother physiological data, or movement data as provided by the embodiment1300 are deemed as belonging the person as verified.

Alternatively, the person uses a smart phone instead of a computer toenter his password. The person enters his password into the smart phoneusing the hand wearing the embodiment 1300. If the typingcharacteristics of those characters entered by that hand wearing theembodiment 1300 match the typing characteristics of those charactersreceived by the smart phone (entered by that same hand), it shall bedeemed that the embodiment 1300 is being worn by the person who has beenidentified the password.

Embodiment 6

FIG. 14 shows another embodiment.

A person wears a sports monitoring device 1401 on this wrist. The sportsmonitoring device 1401 is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 in that itcomprises a bottom PPG sensor 211 which may be used to monitor the bloodflow in the person's wrist. However, the sports monitoring device 1401does not have the fingerprint reader 105 superimposed with the top PPGsensor 103 of FIG. 1 for authenticating the person. Instead, the sportsmonitoring device 1401 relies on a remote biometric authenticationdevice 1400.

The remote biometric authentication device 1400 is provided for readingthe person's fingerprint and heart beat pattern. Preferably, the remotebiometric authentication device 1400 is a smart phone which comprises afingerprint reader 1405 for unlocking the smart phone for user access.The fingerprint reader 1405 is superimposed with a PPG sensor such thata finger placed on the fingerprint reader 1405 to be scanned forfingerprint is also monitored for heart beat pattern at the same time bythe PPG sensor.

Therefore, to use the sports monitoring device 1401, the person placeshis index finger on the fingerprint reader 1405 of the remote biometricauthentication device 1400. The remote biometric authentication deviceis in wireless communication, such as by WiFi or Bluetooth™, with thesports monitoring device 1401.

The heart beat pattern read by fingerprint reader 1405 of the remotebiometric authentication device 1400 from the person's finger and theheart beat pattern read by the bottom PPG sensor 211 in the sportsmonitoring device 1401 from the person's wrist should be identical orvery similar, provided that the person wearing the sports monitoringdevice 1401 is indeed the same person who has placed this finger ontothe fingerprint reader 1405. Accordingly, if the heart beat patternsmatches, it is deemed that the person who is wearing the sportsmonitoring device 1401 is also the person whose fingerprint has beenscanned by the remote biometric authentication device 1400.

In this case, the scanned fingerprint is deemed acceptable for verifyingthe identity of the person.

Subsequently, the person can begin exercising and his heart rate andexercise performance can be recorded by the sports monitoring device1401 and communicated to a server which is in wireless communicationwith the sports monitoring device 1401.

This embodiment illustrates how the biometric authentication device doesnot need to be physically integrated with the PPG sensor on the person'swrist. In variations of this embodiment, the remote biometricauthentication device 1400 can be linked to the sports monitoring device1401 by a physical wire for providing a communication channel betweenthem.

Embodiment 7

FIG. 15 illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 14, in whichthe fingerprint reader is replaced with a camera for iris biometricrecognition.

A person wears a sports monitoring device 1401 on this wrist. The device1401 is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1 in that the device comprisesa bottom PPG sensor 211 which may be used to monitor the blood flow inthe person's wrist. However, the sports monitoring device 1401 does nothave the fingerprint reader 105 superimposed with the top PPG sensor 103of FIG. 1. Instead, the sports monitoring device 1401 relies on a remotebiometric authentication device 1500.

The remote biometric authentication device 1500 is provided for readingthe person's iris and also the person's heart beat pattern from bloodvessels in his eye. Preferably, the remote biometric authenticationdevice 1500 is a camera 1505 in a smart phone 1500.

Therefore, to use the sports monitoring device 1401, the person looksinto the camera 1505. The remote biometric authentication device 1500 isin wireless communication, such as by WiFi or Bluetooth™, with thesports monitoring device 1401.

The heart beat pattern read by the remote biometric authenticationdevice 1500 from the person's eye and the heart beat pattern read by thebottom PPG sensor 211 in the sports monitoring device 1401 from theperson's wrist should be identical or very similar, provided that theperson wearing the sports monitoring device 1401 is indeed the sameperson who looks into the camera 1505. Accordingly, if the heart beatpatterns matches, it is deemed that the person who is wearing the sportsmonitoring device 1401 is also the person whose iris has been scanned bythe remote biometric authentication device 1500. In this case, thescanned iris is deemed acceptable for verifying the identity of theperson.

The embodiments illustrate how, by reading biometric information at thesame time as physiological data such as heart rate pattern, may thephysiological data be verified as belonging to the identified person.From one set of physiological data, any number of other devices worn bythe same person may be verified in turn as being worn by the identifiedperson if the physiological data of all these devices match. This allowsremotely conducted sports or competition to be held without fear thatthe athlete or competitor has be replaced by someone else secretly.

The term ‘heart beat pattern’ is used to include heart rate but may alsorefer other kinds of physiological observations made on the heart. Forexample, instead of heartrate, the ‘heart beat pattern’ may be a peak topeak magnitude.

While there has been described in the foregoing description preferredembodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the technology concerned that many variations ormodifications in details of design, construction or operation may bemade without departing from the scope of the present invention asclaimed. For example, It is within the contemplation of this inventionthat a camera is provided within the ear bud for recording andidentifying unique ear canal blood vessels for biometrically identifyingthe person, and for also for observing light transmission into the earcanal for physiological data such as heart rate.

In other words, the embodiments include a device in which aphysiological monitor and a biometric identity reader are co-located toread from the same part of a living body.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for authenticating physiologicalinformation as belonging to a person comprising: a device, the deviceincluding a physiological monitor and a biometric identity reader; thebiometric identity reader and the physiological monitor arranged suchthat the biometric identity reader is capable of reading biometricinformation of the person while the physiological monitor is readingphysiological information of the person at the same time, toauthenticate the physiological information as being of the person; thedevice being capable of communicating with the second physiologicalmonitor; wherein the system provides the possibility of authenticatingthe physiological information read by the second physiological monitoras belonging to the person if the physiological information read by thefirst physiological monitor correlates to the physiological informationread by the second physiological monitor.
 2. A system for authenticatingphysiological information as belonging to a person as claimed in claim1, wherein the device is configured such that when the physiologicalinformation read by the first physiological monitor correlates to thephysiological information read by the second physiological monitor, thebiometric identity reader discontinues reading of the biometric identityof the person, and the physiological monitor discontinues reading of thephysiological information of the person, and; the second physiologicalmonitor continues reading of the physiological information of theperson.
 3. A system for authenticating physiological information asbelonging to a person as claimed in claim 2, configured such that, ifthe second physiological monitor is detected to have been moved awayfrom the person, the biometric identity reader reads biometricinformation of the person while the physiological monitor is readsphysiological information of the person at the same time, toauthenticate the physiological information as being of the person; andto provide the possibility of authenticating the physiologicalinformation read by the second physiological monitor as belonging to theperson if the physiological information read by the first physiologicalmonitor correlates to the physiological information read by the secondphysiological monitor.
 4. A system for identifying a person as claimedin claim 1, wherein the physiological monitor is adjacent the biometricidentity reader; such that the physical distance between physiologicalmonitor and the biometric identity reader prevents the physiologicalmonitor and the biometric identity reader from being applied separatelyto more than one person at the same time.
 5. A system for identifying aperson as claimed in claim 1, wherein the physiological monitor monitorsthe heart beat pattern of the person.
 6. A system for identifying aperson as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device is in wirelesscommunication with the second physiological monitor.
 7. A system foridentifying a person as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device is asmart phone.
 8. A system for identifying a person as claimed in claim 1,wherein the device is physically integral with the second physiologicalmonitor.
 9. A system for identifying a person as claimed in claim 1,wherein the second physiological monitor is an ear bud to be worn in theear.
 10. A system for identifying a person as claimed in claim 1,wherein the biometric identity reader is a fingerprint reader.
 11. Asystem for identifying a person as claimed in claim 1, wherein thebiometric identity reader is a biometric heartbeat pattern reader.
 12. Asystem for identifying a person as claimed in claim 1, wherein thebiometric identity reader and the a physiological monitor are bothprovided as a camera.
 13. A device including a physiological monitor anda biometric identity reader; the biometric identity reader and thephysiological monitor arranged such that the biometric identity readeris capable of reading biometric information of the person while thephysiological monitor is reading physiological information of the personat the same time, to authenticate the physiological information as beingof the person; the device being capable of communicating with the secondphysiological monitor to correlate physiological information read by thefirst physiological monitor with the physiological information read bythe second physiological monitor.
 14. A device as claimed in claim 13wherein the physiological monitor is adjacent the biometric identityreader; such that the physical distance between physiological monitorand the biometric identity reader prevents the physiological monitor andthe biometric identity reader from being applied separately to more thanone person at the same time.
 15. A physiological monitor forauthenticating a person, wherein the physiological monitor is capable ofreading continuous physiological information of a person; thephysiological information is correlate-able temporarily to anotherphysiological information of the person; the other physiologicalinformation having been authenticated as being of the person; whereincontinuity of the physiological information authenticates the personcontinuously.
 16. A physiological monitor for authenticating a person asclaimed in claim 15, wherein the physiological monitor is in wirelesscommunication with another physiological monitor, the otherphysiological monitor providing the other physiological information thathas been authenticated as being of the person.
 17. A physiologicalmonitor for authenticating a person as claimed in claim 15, wherein thephysiological monitor is physically integral with another physiologicalmonitor, the other physiological monitor providing the otherphysiological information that has been authenticated as being of theperson.
 18. A physiological monitor for authenticating a person asclaimed in claim 15, wherein the physiological monitor is inside an earbud for wearing in the ear.
 19. A method of authenticating physiologicalinformation of person comprising the steps of: a) providing a firstphysiological monitor, a second physiological monitor, and a biometricidentity reader; b) the biometric identity reader reading biometricinformation of the person, the first physiological monitor readingphysiological information of the person and the second physiologicalmonitor reading physiological information of the person at the sametime; and c) authenticating the biometric information of the person inorder to accept the physiological information as belonging to theperson; wherein d) if the physiological information read by the firstphysiological monitor correlates to the physiological information readby the second physiological monitor, accepting the further physiologicalinformation read by the second physiological monitor as belonging to theperson.
 20. A method of authenticating physiological information ofperson as claimed in claim 19, wherein Step d) further comprises thestep of: e) discontinuing the reading of biometric information of theperson by the biometric identity reader, and discontinuing reading ofphysiological information of the person by the first physiologicalmonitor.
 21. A method of authenticating physiological information ofperson as claimed in claim 20, further comprising the step of: f)repeating the steps b) to e) if the second physiological monitor isdeemed to have been moved away from the body part.
 22. A method ofauthenticating physiological information of person as claimed in any oneof claim 18, comprising the further steps of: encrypting the furtherphysiological information read by the second physiological monitor usingthe biometric information of the person.